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The Anthropocene's human‐dominated habitat expansion endangers global biodiversity. However, large mammalian herbivores experienced few extinctions during the 20th century, hinting at potentially overlooked ecological responses of a group sensitive to global change. Using dental microwear as a proxy, we studied large herbivore dietary niches over a century across mainland China before (1880s–1910s) and after (1970s–1990s) the human population explosion. We uncovered widespread and significant shifts (interspecific microwear differences increased and intraspecific microwear dispersion expanded) within dietary niches linked to geographical areas with rapid industrialization and population growth in eastern China. By contrast, in western China, where human population growth was slower, we found no indications of shifts in herbivore dietary niches. Further regression analysis links the intensity of microwear changes to human land‐use expansion. These analyses highlight dietary adjustments of large herbivores as a likely key factor in their adaptation across a century of large‐scale human‐driven changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rattus (sensu stricto) is one of the groups of rodents and is most closely related to human activities. The diversity of extant Rattus species is the highest among rodents, but fossil species are rare, mainly found in Asia during the Late Pliocene to Early Pleistocene. Here, we described a Late Pliocene new species of Rattus based on material from the upper Yangyi Formation in Baoshan county, Yunnan Province, China. The primitive morphological characteristics of fewer molar roots, t12 preserved on M1–2, t9 preserved on M3, and buccal stylids well developed on lower molars indicate that the new Rattus is by far the most primitive form in the Rattus genus. In dental morphology of Rattus, the molars have an evolutionary trend of gradually increasing the number of roots and fusing cusps into an arched ridge, reduction to disappearance of the t7 and t12 on upper molars, and reduction to disappearance of the mesiocentral cusp on m1, the anterior buccal stylid on m1–3 and hypoconid on m3. Discovery of the new Rattus from Baoshan confirms that Rattus probably originated in southern Asia before the Late Pliocene, and also provides new fossil evidence to calibrate the molecular clock of the divergence of Rattus from other murines. In addition, we also reported five associated small mammals: Neotetracus sp. nov., Anourosorex qianensis, Soricidae gen. et sp. indet., Ia io, and Kowalskia sp. Most of them inhabit warm and humid tropical or subtropical montane forests or shrubland environments. The composition of this mammalian assemblage indicates that the paleoelevation and paleoclimate of Baoshan area in the Pliocene are very similar to those of the present. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report a new genus and species of Entelodontidae, Entelodontellus zhouliangi gen. et sp. nov. The new taxon is represented by a pair of mandibular halves which belong to the same individual. The left mandible preserves three molars and the right half preserves p4–m3. It can be distinguished from other entelodonts by presenting a large robust posterior mandibular tubercle, and a primitive dental morphology with a distinct paraconid and hypoconulid on m3. Phylogenetic analyses were carried out. Ten taxa and 10 characters were added to a previously published total-evidence matrix to produce a more comprehensive understanding of entelodontid phylogeny. Our phylogenetic analyses reveal that E. zhouliangi is positioned as one of the most basal taxa of Entelodontidae, inconsistent with the hypothesis that Eoentelodon is the ancestor of all the other entelodonts. The phylogenetic analyses also show that the family Entelodontidae is nested in Cetancodontamorpha, which is one of the four major radiations of Artiodactyla. It is more closely related to hippopotamus and cetaceans than to Suina. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]